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Well, I would say that acting out of ego is the hell that Christians refer to. When you live an egoic life, there is suffering - hell on Earth. However, heaven is what occurs when you become the infinite field of nothingness that you metaphysically are. And that happens when ego death occurs. And Leo said that the substance he used creates this ego death in his recent video.

Paradox In language, there is lots of paradox. You are everything; you are nothing. You are emptiness; you are form. You are the witness but also the witnessed. Experience is fleeting; the Truth is everlasting. It's so confusing sometimes to stay in the muck and mire of words, isn't it? And yet, there you go, continuing to read someone's journal post for hope that some more words will be the key that allows you to discover your true nature. Only thought-stories/language contain paradox. In direct experience, there are no paradoxes. See if you can drop all of your conceptual baggage for a sec. All of it. Being and not-being, everything and nothing, Infinity, Absolute Nothingness, the Self and not-Self, the witness, kundalini and samadhi, arisings in experience, inside and outside worlds, awareness as the container, whatever the fuck spiritual malarkey you hold onto. Forget it for just this second and return to the no-paradox simplicity of direct experience. You already know that you are. And that knowingness IS all of experience. There's no difference. Knowingness = experience experiencing itself. Even thought is this knowing quality. When has this knowing ever left you? Can you ever experience anything outside of this knowing? Or is that question/thought just a part of this knowing? Now, what were you looking for again...?

I had an enlightenment experience about 4 months ago. Although I'm calling it an enlightenment experience I don't really know what it was. A few times after that I had the same experience. But here I'm going to talk about the first time. I had it listening to Leo's guided self inquiry. And only once I had it when I was doing self inquiry by myself. The first time I had it I was scared. My hands were shaking. It felt like nothingness or maybe everythingness. It was strange. At the same time I felt pure joy. I wanted to stay in that state forever it was so pleasant. After being in that state for some time it was gone. It lasted 20 to 30 minutes. I went outside and I was looking at the world as though I saw it for the first time. It was new and bright. I felt a lot of energy in the body. I was grateful for being alive. I wanted to share this joy with others, wanted them to feel the same way. It was enough just to be. I really saw that there's something more to life than we normally would think. I can't force myself to have this again. The more force I'm using the farther away I'm from the actual experience. I know that but it's still hard to let go of desire. A lot of times I was close to having that but desire did the work to prevent that. What did I have there? I'm not sure if I want to know what it was. Because you kind of can't name it or explain it with words. Maybe someone out there had something similar to what I had? Maybe even listening to the same guided self inquiry? Just share your thoughts if you’ve got some.

How do you define the I AM? I ask this because I see that a lot of people like to say "there's nothing", "nothingness", "the void". That all this is true, but in my opinion it can be a bit deceptive, because the ego is always going to extremes. If it's nothing the other possibility doesn't exist. That's not how reality works. In reality all the possibilities are there, in one. The I AM (or the self) is nothing, and everything. It doesn't exists and it exists. So I see like confusion when people ask me what is no-self. I tell them that you can't find a self. "I" when is identified with the body, with impermanent things, like thoughts, feelings, skills, etc.... that I am doesn't exists, is fake. But there's pure awareness, not identified with nothing yet it is everything, that's the I AM I talk about. I searched some information about it, mostly from two of my favorites Advaita teachers, Nisargadatta Maharaj and Ramana Maharshi. Maharaj wrote the book that in my opinion is like the Bible of Advaita called "I AM THAT". And that is what it says about them on wikipedia: "The South Indian sage Ramana Maharshi mentions that in the Hindu Advaita Vedanta school, of all the definitions of God, "none is indeed so well put as the biblical statement 'I am that I am'". He maintained that although Hindu scripture contains similar statements in the Mahavakyas, these are not as direct as given in Exodus. Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj explains the "I am" as an abstraction in the mind of the Stateless State, of the Absolute, or the Supreme Reality, called Parabrahman: it is pure awareness, prior to thoughts, free from perceptions, associations, memories." I wanted to post this question several days ago but I was always postponing it so I wanna thanks because we were talking about the topic on another thread and what he has to say got my attention, even when we don't agree in this point. But he was very respectful and I really like to change opinions with others, that's how we grow. Let me know guys what do you think about all this thing, does the I AM exists??? Or there's nothing at all??? How do you define "reality"? In my opinion reality and the I AM are the same. What is not the same is the thought that I AM this body, I am a loser, I am ugly, etc... the identification with a separated self, that's not real. The self is one, and is the I AM, is nothing and everything. Is non-dual. It has both characteristics, is a self and no-self. Is there a self, a no-self, awareness, reality, I AM that this or those, I AM not, etc etc etc...??????? And yara yara yara as Leo says.

I think, as has been mentioned by others earlier in this post, that attributing qualities to the self is not possible. As @abrakamowse noted, attributing ''I'' or ''Nothingness'' to that which is the recipient of perception cannot be done, for the self is outside of linguistic conception. The only thing one can truly say about the ''perceiver of perception'', is that it's there. It's of such a nature that you paradoxically locate it when you realize that you cannot point at it, or describe it's qualities. It is basically the empty, eternal space (properties attributed to it for illustrating intentions only) to which neurons send their message. In the tradition of Advaita, as well as in the field of Indian philosophy as a whole, one of the main presumptions is that ''that which endures, is ultimately real'', or, more precisely, that that which is ''longer enduring'', carries a higher ontological status. Seeing as nothing in the manifest material world is permanent, and that the self allegedly is eternal, indivisible, unexplainable etc. It is revered as that with the highest ontological status.

Do you feel identified more with the idea of a separated "I" or with nothingness? Just curious. It happened to me and now a shift in the way of thinking is appearing and I wanted to know. I used to feel very identified with the identity and I couldn't think of reality as myself, that I AM everything and nothing at the same time. Maybe is there some pointer? I don't know...

I've never found a perceiver and I don't see any reason why there would have to be a perciever. The perception is just 'there'. It fills nothingness, just as matter fills empty space. You cannot experience the nothingness directly, but you can get a sense of it. Look down at your body and trace it all the way up to where your head should be, what is there? Nothing. I think the confusion comes when we try to put it in words.

And what is that nothingness? Who perceives? or what is being perceived by who? Is it possible to have perception without a perceiver? How consciousness perceives itself? Nothingness is another word too... in my opinion that Nothingness is the I AM, the one that Buddhist call it Buddha Mind or Big Mind. and they call our perception or wrong idea of I am this or that as Small Mind. I feel there's a lot of confusion on this topic.

It's all a wonderful mystery. I mean, who can really say for sure from this perspective. What is awareness? What is the I am? what is nothingness? What is this? Why does existence happen at all? What happens to me when I pass? Is there anything that remains of the "I am" after the body falls away? These are questions that can't be answered by the mind. I have heard many different answers to all these questions. Which would be truth? There are so many inspirational teachers out there. There has always been for all of time. But so many differ too from each other too. My gut feeling is what it has always been since the first day I realized that there is more to us than meets the eye as an individual self. For some reason this universe (existence) wants to experience itself through awareness. It does through the entirety of the universe. Through different expressions of itself as different organisms that best suit it's environment. Imagine the diversity out there. The human organism being just one of a countless number on different planets. But one thing remains the same, awareness of the surrounding environment. When that organism dies, it's individual experience of awareness comes to an end. It's cycle is complete. But awareness is unstoppable, it continues without missing a beat through producing a new organism that continues that cycle of awareness that the previous organism physically produced ( the children of the human organism for example). So do I think there is an I Am? I think " I am that I am" answers that best. As long as the "I Am" remains within the awareness of reality- there is an "I Am". After that, it's lights out. If there is anything of the "I Am" that continues after my mind and body drops away, that would be an extra bonus. But I'm not counting on it at this point. At the core of the individual as a separate self there exists the I Am or beingness. As Mooji has said, "The I Am is not the final state". I wonder what that "Final State" could be and what of the I Am will remain if any? Who really knows what happens???

I understand I AM is just words. The truth cannot be really named because it's not a concept and not an object. Having said that, I don't understand why people tend to say I AM is just words but Nothingness is the truth. The same thing happens with nothingness. So what is the point saying this is the real way to call it, there's nothing and if you say I AM is wrong is a concept. The concept that we have of I AM is wrong, we as a separated being are not the "I". There's no I in that sense. But we are one with reality, that's is what I AM. I AM = Truth = reality = everything = nothing. But is there a perceiver?

From what I can see, there is only perception, other than that; nothingness.

I gave up on the nothing-less method of meditation as it was something I did without any success when was suffering with insomnia for over a year. During that time I mastered the nothingness technique of meditation for hours and hours at a time. A few weeks ago I was talking with a friend about meditation who has also had insomnia , she spoke of how she had mastered the nothing-less technique and like me without benefit. Think nothing get nothing It was at that point I switched my meditation to the focused technique for its reported benefits. To expand on the method I have begun doing sessions where I meditate to visualize a goals successful completion. Focused attention meditation Focusing the attention on a single object during the whole meditation session. This object may be the breath, a mantra, visualization, part of the body, external object, etc. As the practitioner advances, his ability to keep the flow of attention in the chosen object gets stronger, and distractions become less common and short-lived. Both the depth and steadiness of his attention are developed. Examples of these are: Samatha (Buddhist meditation), some forms of Zazen, Loving Kindness Meditation, Chakra Meditation, Kundalini Meditation, Sound Meditation, Mantra Meditation, Pranayama, some forms of Qigong, and many others Types of Meditation – An Overview of 23 Meditation Techniques http://liveanddare.com/types-of-meditation/

I was doing some self inquiry yesterday and was thinking (not through my mind but through experience): Who is aware of my breathing? I am breathing in and out irregularly and sometimes holding my breath so therefore i am not my breath. And i became fully aware of everything in my body. Am i the awareness of my body? sometimes i am aware of my body and sometimes i am not, my awareness shifts from inside my body, to my external surroundings, to my thoughts. You are always aware, so you are 'awareness', but you are not anything you are aware of/observing. But what about when i am asleep? At this point i literally fell asleep. When i am sleeping, i am not aware. I am still me, even though i am not conscious/aware of existence in deep sleep. So i cant be awareness. So if i am not awareness/consciousness, what am i? Thats when i think: i am nothingness, when im sleeping. So now im thinking, is my journey in this life to get me to consciously feel as calm and unatttached as i am when i am asleep? Because when i sleep, i literally merge with reality without judgement and ego. Is this my true self? Your thoughts are appreciated xxxx

Haha I've reread my answer and I realized that there was no point to write it. It's a fun thing to attempt to rationalize, but it is an ineffable thing to explain. You will not understand it by reading explanations, even from those who are truly awakened, and it's pointless to seek definitions to explain it because nothingness is a very abstract thing. It's like attempting to recreate the feeling one has in a new country they visited for another person. It simply won't work until they have been there and experienced it for themselves.

Hello all! So a few weeks ago during my meditation session I started trying to observe things without putting a label on it, I started moving my hand around and looked at my hand to see it as it is, to see the formless thing it was, and then the awareness of my mental sensations shot backward (inward) I felt a huge vast open space and nothingness, it was frightening and i felt a surge of panic, I didn't know who i was anymore, All i felt was a vast ocean of emptiness. It only lasted for a minute and then i lost it again. Since then I ''know'' on an emotional level that I don't exist, because I've experienced nothingness, but somehow it wasn't a permanent transformation like for example Eckhart Tolle went through. Any suggestions to make it reoccur and make it permanent?

Very beautifully poetic, Dodo! Although I'm not asking for more bullshit stories in your catalogue of bullshit stories. I'm asking you to actually look with no preconceived notions in your direct experience. Any question I ask is a focus point to confirm in direct experience, not an opportunity to spew logical proofs, quotes, or something someone else told you. Forget about "unmanifest nothingness" for a second. The I-thought. Is it not just another thought that arises? Just the same as "the sky is blue" or "chicken is for dinner" or "Jesus said ____"? If so, it comes and goes like all thoughts. But what you really are is still there, is it not? That which knows experience, without the need for logical knowledge?

So beyond the I am thought, there is the unmanifested nothingness surrounding it, that the i feeds itself new thoughts from? And if the i thought becomes aware of itself and starts looking in the darkness conciously, it shines its light on the darkness, like a ray of light? Is the I the light of this world as Jesus puts it?

@comp13 It's really quite simple. Thoughts just love to complicate it. Surely there's an I-thought. But it pops out of nowhere, just like all the other thoughts about there being a "thinker," a "chooser," a "doer." You can discover this in direct experience. Once you do, you realize furthermore that the I-thought that claims ownership over any aspect of experience is just another thought, and really, nobody can own experience. The ego never existed in the first place. There is no central experiencer, only experience experiencing itself. Enlightenment is actually your present experience, just overlayed with thought-stories appearing out of nowhere (all false) such as: How can I attain enlightenment? Surely there must be something outside of experience? But science says _____! But Advaita Vedanta says I need to do Karma Yoga for another year so I can become enlightened! I experienced this vast loving openness, so I must stay in that openness and re-experience it to become re-enlightened! But everyone says I'm going to die! Look at all the bodies dying around me! I must be the body! Agh! I need immortality or else my experience is incomplete! But Leo says I'm nothingness! So I must look for that nothingness as if it were an object of experience! There must be such thing as objects. Otherwise I wouldn't exist! Maybe Mooji will have the answers... I'm so unhappy! I'm so upset! I'm so angry! Ooo Benhito Massaro talks about manifestation! That may be of use for ME. They say "Find out who is experiencing," but of course I'm experiencing! And on and on and on...until.....

Thanks, I found your reply very helpful! I can now see how awareness might be the fundamental form of existence that doesn't need anything. I suppose the problem is that it's not possible for science to explain this. It's something that can only be experienced. What if this experience or aware nothingness is an illusion created by the mind in a meditative experience? What if it's just the most basic part of the brain being experienced without all the thought and sense perception parts? I don't know, I just have a lot of doubts. Sometimes I intuitively feel it to be true and I totally get it and don't even doubt it and other times I'm totally unconvinced and skeptical.

I understand that it's not supposed to be something in the brain and that it transcends physicality and rationality. I've watched Leo's videos on it closely. However, I'm not even sure that consciousness isn't produced by the brain. I'm open to the possibility, it would be much more interesting after all but I need to do more research (research includes meditation and so on as well as reading scientific books etc). So if nothingness has no qualities at all how can it be aware? This is where I'm stuck. Surely awareness is a quality of SOME kind. I mean, if it wasn't a quality we wouldn't be talking about it. Or is the word nothingness misleading in this case. Surely it's not actually nothing as it does exist.

@Atticus I think you're thinking that it takes a brain to be aware. It does not. It takes a brain to form thought, memories, emotions, etc., but awareness, is what YOU ARE, not a quality or ability of yourself. It is not a "thing" at all. It's not even nothingness. When you picture nothingness, you probably picture empty space. It's not even close to empty space. It has no qualities at all, other than IT IS. We take awareness for granted, when it is absolutely fundamental for our existence. It actually is existence.. Try to view awareness (being aware) with absolute importance, and deduce what it actually is from there.

These things do inspire me to work on my life purpose with the focus on the nothingness / everythingness (transient morality). Then, I can't think of a better mission in life than to align the life purpose with world peace. Is it possible that these things trigger these kinds of experiences with a combo of meditation / contemplation / self-inquiry? Time to find out. So awesome...

It's one of those paradoxes in the Enlightenment game that's not really reconcilable via rationality. To say that Nothingness is self-aware would be to attribute some sort of quality to it, in this case awareness. So no, Nothingness is not self-aware. That implies a "thing" that's doing something. At the same time, Enlightened people would tell you that Nothingness is self-aware. And I'm guessing that's because that's really just the best way you can understand it with your mind. Anyway, it's not really that important. This is not about learning, it's about un-learning. These kind of questions will reconcile when the time comes.

Nothingness can be better described as formlessness. Reality is in essence a nothingness because it is an endless abstraction of transient forms descending from a common root of subatomic energy. Furthermore, nothingness is not aware in the sense of how we are aware during our daily lives or how a dog or cat is aware of their environment. Rather it's awareness is instantaneous and and integral in all matter. It's awareness is the way in which life progresses and balances harmoniously. I hope this helps.

Those are some words I like to read from time to time in orde to get motivated towards change and enlightenment. And I wanted to share them with you. Tell me which piece of wisdom you like most? Rule 1 How we see God is a direct reflection of how we see ourselves. If God brings to mind mostly fear and blame, it means there is too much fear and blame welled inside us. If we see God as full of love and compassion, so are we. Rule 2 The path to the Truth is a labour of the heart, not of the head. Make your heart your primary guide! Not your mind. Meet, challenge and ultimately prevail over your nafs with your heart. Knowing your ego will lead you to the knowledge of God. Rule 3 You can study God through everything and everyone in the universe, because God is not confined in a mosque, synagogue or church. But if you are still in need of knowing where exactly His abode is, there is only one place to look for him: in the heart of a true lover. Rule 4 Intellect and love are made of different materials. Intellect ties people in knots and risks nothing, but love dissolves all tangles and risks everything. Intellect is always cautious and advices, ‘Beware too much ecstasy’, whereas love says, ‘Oh, never mind! Take the plunge!’ Intellect does not easily break down, whereas love can effortlessly reduce itself to rubble. But treasures are hidden among ruins. A broken heart hides treasures. Rule 5 Most of problems of the world stem from linguistic mistakes and simple misunderstanding. Don’t ever take words at face value. When you step into the zone of love, language, as we know it becomes obsolete. That which cannot be put into words can only be grasped through silence. Rule 6 Loneliness and solitude are two different things. When you are lonely, it is easy to delude yourself into believing that you are on the right path. Solitude is better for us, as it means being alone without feeling lonely. But eventually it is the best to find a person who will be your mirror. Remember only in another person’s heart can you truly see yourself and the presence of God within you. Rule 7 Whatever happens in your life, no matter how troubling things might seem, do not enter the neighbourhood of despair. Even when all doors remain closed, God will open up a new path only for you. Be thankful! It is easy to be thankful when all is well. A Sufi is thankful not only for what he has been given but also for all that he has been denied. Rule 8 Patience does not mean to passively endure. It means to look at the end of a process. What does patience mean? It means to look at the thorn and see the rose, to look at the night and see the dawn. Impatience means to be shortsighted as to not be able to see the outcome. The lovers of God never run out of patience, for they know that time is needed for the crescent moon to become full. Rule 9 East, west, south, or north makes little difference. No matter what your destination, just be sure to make every journey a journey within. If you travel within, you’ll travel the whole wide world and beyond. Rule 10 The midwife knows that when there is no pain, the way for the baby cannot be opened and the mother cannot give birth. Likewise, for a new self to be born, hardship is necessary. Just as clay needs to go through intense heat to become strong, Love can only be perfected in pain. Rule 11 The quest for love changes user. There is no seeker among those who search for love who has not matured on the way. The moment you start looking for love, you start to change within and without. Rule 12 There are more fake gurus and false teachers in this world than the number of stars in the visible universe. Don’t confuse power-driven, self-centered people with true mentors. A genuine spiritual master will not direct your attention to himself or herself and will not expect absolute obedience or utter admiration from you, but instead will help you to appreciate and admire your inner self. True mentors are as transparent as glass. They let the light of God pass through them. Rule 13 Try not to resist the changes, which come your way. Instead let life live through you. And do not worry that your life is turning upside down. How do you know that the side you are used to is better than the one to come? Rule 14 God is busy with the completion of your work, both outwardly and inwardly. He is fully occupied with you. Every human being is a work in progress that is slowly but inexorably moving toward perfection. We are each an unfinished work of art both waiting and striving to be completed. God deals with each of us separately because humanity is fine art of skilled penmanship where every single dot is equally important for the entire picture. Rule 15 It’s easy to love a perfect God, unblemished and infallible that He is. What is far more difficult is to love fellow human being with all their imperfections and defects. Remember, one can only know what one is capable of loving. There is no wisdom without love. Unless we learn to love God’s creation, we can neither truly love nor truly know God. Rule 16 Real faith is the one inside. The rest simply washes off. There is only one type of dirt that cannot be cleansed with pure water, and that is the stain of hatred and bigotry contaminating the soul. You can purify your body through abstinence and fasting, but only love will purify your heart. Rule 17 The whole universe is contained within a single human being-you. Everything that you see around, including the things that you might not be fond of and even the people you despise or abhor, is present within you in varying degrees. Therefore, do not look for Sheitan outside yourself either. The devil is not an extraordinary force that attacks from without. It is an ordinary voice within. If you set to know yourself fully, facing with honesty and hardness. Rule 18 If you want to change the ways others treat you, you should first change the way you treat yourself, fully and sincerely, there is no way you can be loved. Once you achieve that stage, however, be thankful for every thorn that others might throw at you. It is a sign that you will soon be showered in roses. Rule 19 Fret not where the road will take you. Instead concentrate on the first step. That is the hardest part and that is what you are responsible for. Once you take that step let everything do what it naturally does and the rest will follow. Don’t go with the flow. Be the flow. Rule 20 We were all created in His image, and yet we were each created different and unique. No two people are alike. No hearts beat to the same rhythm. If God had wanted everyone to be the same, He would have made it so. Therefore, disrespecting differences and imposing your thoughts on others is an amount to disrespecting God’s holy scheme. Rule 21 When a true lover of God goes into a tavern, the tavern becomes his chamber of prayer, but when a wine bibber goes into the same chamber, it becomes his tavern. In everything we do, it is our hearts that make the difference, not our outer appearance. Sufis do not judge other people on how they look or who they are. When a Sufi stares at someone, he keeps both eyes closed instead opens a third eye – the eye that sees the inner realm. Rule 22 Life is a temporary loan and this world is nothing but a sketchy imitation of Reality. Only children would mistake a toy for the real thing. And yet human beings either become infatuated with the toy or disrespectfully break it and throw it aside. In this life stay away from all kinds of extremities, for they will destroy your inner balance. Sufis do not go to extremes. A Sufi always remains mild and moderate. Rule 23 The human being has a unique place among God’s creation. “I breathed into him of My Spirit,” God says. Each and every one of us without exception is designed to be God’s delegate on earth. Ask yourself, just how often do you behave like a delegate, if you ever do so? Remember, it fells upon each of us to discover the divine spirit inside and live by it. Rule 24 Hell is in the here and now. So is heaven. Quit worrying about hell or dreaming about heaven, as they are both present inside this very moment. Every time we fall in love, we ascend to heaven. Every time we hate, envy or fight someone we tumble straight into the fires of hell. Rule 25 Each and every reader comprehends the Holy Qur’an on a different level of tandem with the depth of his understanding. There are four levels of insight. The first level is the outer meaning and it is the one that the majority of the people are content with. Next is the Batin – the inner level. Third, there is the inner of the inner. And the fourth level is so deep it cannot be put into words and is therefore bound to remain indescribable. Rule 26 The universe is one being. Everything and everyone is interconnected through an invisible web of stories. Whether we are aware of it or not, we are all in a silent conversation. Do no harm. Practice compassion. And do not gossip behind anyone’s back – not even a seemingly innocent remark! The words that come out of our mouths do not vanish but are perpetually stored in infinite space and they will come back to us in due time. One man’s pain will hurt us all. One man’s joy will make everyone smile. Rule 27 Whatever you speak, good or evil, will somehow come back to you. Therefore, if there is someone who harbours ill thoughts about you, saying similarly bad things about him will only make matters worse. You will be locked in a vicious circle of malevolent energy. Instead for forty days and nights say and think nice things about that person. Everything will be different at the end of 40 days, because you will be different inside. Rule 28 The past is an interpretation. The future is on illusion. The world does not more through time as if it were a straight line, proceeding from the past to the future. Instead time moves through and within us, in endless spirals. Eternity does not mean infinite time, but simply timelessness. If you want to experience eternal illumination, put the past and the future out of your mind and remain within the present moment. Rule 29 Destiny doesn’t mean that your life has been strictly predetermined. Therefore, to live everything to the fate and to not actively contribute to the music of the universe is a sign of sheer ignorance. The music of the universe is all pervading and it is composed on 40 different levels. Your destiny is the level where you play your tune. You might not change your instrument but how well to play is entirely in your hands. Rule 30 The true Sufi is such that even when he is unjustly accused, attacked and condemned from all sides, he patiently endures, uttering not a sing bad word about any of his critics. A Sufi never apportions blame. How can there be opponents or rivals or even “others” when there is no “self” in the first place? How can there be anyone to blame when there is only One? Rule 31 If you want to strengthen your faith, you will need to soften inside. For your faith to be rock solid, your heart needs to be as soft as a feather. Through an illness, accident, loss or fright, one way or another, we are all faced with incidents that teach us how to become less selfish and judgmental and more compassionate and generous. Yet some of us learn the lesson and manage to become milder, while some others end up becoming even harsher than before… Rule 32 Nothing should stand between you and God. No imams, priests, rabbits or any other custodians of moral or religious leadership. Not spiritual masters and not even your faith. Believe in your values and your rules, but never lord them over others. If you keep breaking other people’s hearts, whatever religious duty you perform is no good. Stay away from all sorts of idolatry, for they will blur your vision. Let God and only God be your guide. Learn the Truth, my friend, but be careful not to make a fetish out of your truths. Rule 33 While everyone in this world strives to get somewhere and become someone, only to leave it all behind after death, you aim for the supreme stage of nothingness. Live this life as light and empty as the number zero. We are no different from a pot. It is not the decorations outside but the emptiness inside that holds us straight. Just like that, it is not what we aspire to achieve but the consciousness of nothingness that keeps us going. Rule 34 Submission does not mean being weak or passive. It leads to neither fatalism nor capitulation. Just the opposite. True power resides in submission a power that comes within. Those who submit to the divine essence of life will live in unperturbed tranquillity and peace even the whole wide world goes through turbulence after turbulence. Rule 35 In this world, it is not similarities or regularities that take us a step forward, but blunt opposites. And all the opposites in the universe are present within each and every one of us. Therefore the believer needs to meet the unbeliever residing within. And the nonbeliever should get to know the silent faithful in him. Until the day one reaches the stage of Insane-I Kamil, the perfect human being, faith is a gradual process and one that necessitates its seeming opposite: disbelief. Rule 36 This world is erected upon the principle of reciprocity. Neither a drop of kindness nor a speck of evil will remain unreciprocated. For not the plots, deceptions, or tricks of other people. If somebody is setting a trap, remember, so is God. He is the biggest plotter. Not even a leaf stirs outside God’s knowledge. Simply and fully believe in that. Whatever God does, He does it beautifully. Rule 37 God is a meticulous dock maker. So precise is His order that everything on earth happens in its own time. Neither a minute late nor a minute early. And for everyone without exception, the clock works accurately. For each there is a time to love and a time to die. Rule 38 It is never too late to ask yourself, “Am I ready to change the life I am living? Am I ready to change within?” Even if a single day in your life is the same as the day before, it surely is a pity. At every moment and with each new breath, one should be renewed and renewed again. There is only one-way to be born into a new life: to die before death. Rule 39 While the part change, the whole always remains the same. For every thief who departs this world, a new one is born. And every descent person who passes away is replaced by a new one. In this way not only does nothing remain the same but also nothing ever really changes. For every Sufi who dies, another is born somewhere. Rule 40 A life without love is of no account. Don’t ask yourself what kind of love you should seek, spiritual or material, divine or mundane, Eastern or Western. Divisions only lead to more divisions. Love has no labels, no definitions. It is what it is, pure and simple. Love is the water of life. And a lover is a soul of fire! The universe turns differently when fire loves water.